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Guides / First shipment UK to Poland · Updated 30 September 2026

First business shipment from the UK to Poland: a step-by-step checklist

A practical order of work for UK businesses sending their first commercial consignment to a customer in Poland, from EORI numbers to import clearance on the Polish side.

This guide is also available in Polish.

Your first business sale from Great Britain to a customer in Poland looks simple on paper: goods leave your warehouse, a truck crosses the Channel, the buyer receives them. In practice two customs systems are involved, the UK's on exit and the EU's on entry, and each expects specific data from specific people. This checklist walks through the order in which things usually need to happen, and points to our more detailed guides for each step.

Step 1: Get the identifiers right on both sides

GOV.UK states that you need an EORI number starting with GB to export goods from England, Wales or Scotland. If you do not have one yet, apply before anything else, because every later document refers to it. Our guide on when you need an EORI number covers the application.

Your Polish buyer needs an identifier too. The European Commission describes the EORI number as mandatory for customs operations in the EU customs territory, and says an operator established in the EU gets it from the national customs authority of its own country. In other words, a company based in Poland registers in Poland and receives a number starting with PL. Ask your buyer for it at the quote stage, not on the day of loading.

Step 2: Classify the goods with a commodity code

GOV.UK is clear that you must find the right commodity code to classify the goods you are exporting. The code drives which rules, licences and duty rates apply at both ends, and your Polish buyer's declaration will need a matching EU code. Use the UK Trade Tariff lookup guide to find it, and if the product is hard to classify, consider the advance tariff ruling route before you ship regular volumes.

Step 3: Agree who does what with Incoterms

Before a price is fixed, both sides should agree which party arranges and pays for the export declaration, the main carriage and the import clearance in Poland. The Incoterms rule written into the contract answers that. Getting this wrong is one of the most common reasons first shipments stall at the border, because each party assumes the other has booked the customs agent. Our explainer on Incoterms and who clears customs compares the usual choices for UK to EU trade.

Step 4: Decide who will make the declarations

GOV.UK explains that you can make the export declaration yourself or hire someone to deal with customs and transport for you. Most first-time exporters appoint an agent. It matters how that agent acts: under direct representation the trader remains liable for the declaration, while under indirect representation the agent is jointly liable. See direct vs indirect customs representation and the do you need a broker page for help choosing.

Remember there are two declarations: the UK export declaration and the Polish import declaration. They are often handled by different people, so make sure both are covered.

Step 5: Prepare the document pack

According to GOV.UK, the completed invoice and any licences or certificates must travel with the goods. A practical minimum pack is:

Our guide to export documents, packing list and invoice goes into each item.

Origin: the statement on origin

GOV.UK notes that you may need proof of origin when exporting to a country where your goods get a reduced or zero rate of duty. Under the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement, HMRC guidance says an origin declaration can be made on a commercial document, such as an invoice, packing list or delivery note, that identifies the goods in enough detail. If you are not an approved exporter, you must include your EORI number on it. Alternatively, the importer can claim preference on the basis of its own knowledge, but it then needs supporting evidence about commodity codes, production and materials. Preference is not automatic: your goods must actually meet the rules of origin. Read statement on origin under the TCA before adding one to your invoice.

Do not add an origin statement simply because the goods were shipped from the UK. Goods that were bought in from outside the UK and resold may not qualify as UK origin, and a wrong statement can lead to duty being recovered from your buyer later.

Step 6: Submit the export declaration

The export declaration is lodged in the UK's Customs Declaration Service, the system that replaced the older CHIEF system. Once it is accepted, it produces a reference that the haulier will need. Our guide to the movement reference number explains what that reference is and where it goes. Some goods moving to Poland by road also travel under transit, which is covered in T1 transit from the UK to the EU.

Step 7: Book transport and the GMR

If the truck leaves through a port that uses the Goods Vehicle Movement Service, GOV.UK says a goods movement reference must be presented at the port of departure, and it must include the declaration references for all goods being carried. Usually the haulier creates the GMR, so send them the declaration references as soon as you have them. For the Channel crossing itself, see Dover-Calais customs for hauliers.

On the EU side, the European Commission explains that carriers must provide advance safety and security information through an entry summary declaration before goods arrive. Our guide to ENS safety and security declarations sets out who files it.

Step 8: Import clearance in Poland

When the goods reach the EU, the Commission describes the sequence: the goods are presented to customs and may sit in temporary storage, an import customs declaration is lodged, and import duties and VAT are paid unless a relief applies. Only then are the goods released for free circulation and treated like EU goods. Your buyer, or the agent it appoints, handles this step, which is why the EORI number, commodity code, value and origin evidence you supplied earlier must match what they declare. For a buyer-side view of the Polish formalities, see this overview of import clearance for UK goods arriving in Poland.

If the goods are only passing through Poland to a customer in another EU country, a different set-up may apply, described in customs procedure 42 for onward supply.

Step 9: Keep your export evidence

GOV.UK notes that you may be able to zero-rate the goods for VAT when you export them. Keep the declaration records, transport documents and invoice together so that you can support that treatment if HMRC asks. A tidy file from the first shipment also makes the second one far quicker.

Quick recap

Related guides

Need help with both sides of the border?

Easy Clearance is a UK–EU customs clearance agency handling import and export declarations, T1/T2 transit and UK–Poland removals. Its page explains import clearance for goods arriving in Poland from the UK.

Read about import clearance in Poland

Sources

General information, not legal, tax or customs advice. Rules change; confirm current requirements on gov.uk or with a registered agent before you ship.